I Was Unenthusiastically Supportive of Biden’s Campaign. Then, I Tried to Watch the Debate.
Like most left-leaning Americans, I supported Pres. Biden’s re-election without much enthusiasm. In his presidency to this point, he has made some positive changes, some negative changes, and some painful lacks of changes. However, the 2024 election, for liberals especially, is not about the issues. It’s about keeping Fmr. Pres. Trump out of the oval. In left-leaning circles, the support for Biden is healthy, enthusiasm minimal. This isn’t an election where you will see many Biden t-shirts and yard signs. This support without enthusiasm hadn’t skipped over me, either. I did strongly support Biden, though my advocacy for him was largely based on the importance of not electing Trump.
Along with millions of Americans, I had been becoming more skeptical of Biden’s fitness for the presidency over the past months. While a significant amount of Biden-bashing content is right-wing propaganda formulated with alternative facts, there is some truth to the notion that Biden is too old, makes too many gaffes, struggles to finish his sentences too often, and appears visibly confused too much to be president. This rhetoric ultimately culminates in the emotionally distressing notion that, similarly to Trump, Biden is a leader that Americans should be embarrassed by on a world stage. Some of this is legitimate and some is an exaggeration, though it is undoubtedly true that Joe Biden as he exists today appears to be a shell of the man who was the Vice President for Barack Obama and the President-Elect in 2020.
A few days ago, Biden had the opportunity to defeat the allegations on a huge stage. If he could be assertive and strong like he was in the previous State of the Union address, it would become apparent to undecided voters that Biden was the man for the job.
Then, he tried to debate.
To be transparent, I did not watch the debate live. I was walking the Wildwoods boardwalk that evening so I attempted to watch the debate back on YouTube later that night. Just as Trump’s obsessive interrupting made the first debate in 2020 painful to watch, Biden’s effective inability to speak English let alone make solid points made this debate painful to watch. Biden sounded quiet and appeared awkward walking up to the podium, a stark contrast to the confidence he exuded when being introduced to the first debate in 2020. As soon as he began to speak, I was cringing. His hoarse voice may be in part due to a cold, though it didn’t sound significantly different compared to his normal speaking voice. But it wasn’t just his voice that made the debate a hard-watch; it was what he said too. When the topic of abortion, the strongest issue for the Biden campaign was brought up by CNN’s moderators, it was Biden who twisted the topic into immigration, among his weakest issues. It begs the question: if Biden can’t formulate a strong message in a debate with a compatriot, how can he make headway in negotiations with foreign world leaders?
I don’t doubt that the president isn’t still mentally sharp and I couldn't be more confident that he is more intelligent than the other guy. Good ideas, however, do nothing if they cannot be effectively conveyed. It is because of this that my support for President Biden has changed from unenthusiasm to reluctance. As the democratic party ponders putting forward a different nominee, I find myself hoping for this result despite not considering it five days ago. But Biden won’t drop out, and America will either be left in an embarrassing identity or a catastrophe for the next four years.
Trumps assertiveness was a stark contrast to Biden’s weak demeanor